Note: there is no agreement on the year of the Minoan eruption of the volcano on Thera/Santorini. Estimates, even with carbon-dating, vary from late 1600s BCE to mid 1400s BCE, though there is suggestion that there was an effect on Egypt's weather. But it's mostly linked with mid-to-late 16th Dynasty Egyptian time-frame.

Thoth was really skilled at Senet, and well he should be since its predecessor was draughts and he had been quite good at that. Much to Khonsu's chagrin. But, skill only went so far when the knuckle-bones did not roll just the way you wanted or needed them to in order to allot the player the opportunity to execute the strategy they wished to employ. Part luck, part skill. Thoth really enjoyed the game. As did much of Egypt, it had grown in popularity in not only the noble and Pharonic classes but with the peasants, as well.

Equally, he enjoyed sharing it with friends because there was no reason to accuse him of letting anyone win since there was so much luck and chance at play. In fact, he rather enjoyed it when he was beaten. Problem was, not many had patience for long afternoons of playing. Especially not those from outside Egypt. Hermes had not the patience for more than a single game most times before he'd regale Thoth with all the details of the things he was missing by staying in arid Egypt.

( Thoth. Isis. Set. Osiris. Egypt.... )

After This.

When Thoth heard that young Hermes had come to see him, there was no hiding that it pleased him. The boy was smart, clever and rather anxious to see and learn new things. Delightful qualities to have. He was very, very fond of the boy. He'd been told there was an extension of xenia so it might have been a bit before he'd actually see the kid.

Except that several hours passed, enough that he noted the change in the set of the sun and still Hermes had not been brought before him. Perhaps he fell asleep. A full stomach and having thirst quenched with beer could have understandably caused a certain degree of drowsiness and the Greek was more than welcome to stay and rest.

But come the next morning, Hermes still did not come before him. ( Strange. )

Bast stared around the room she was in, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, as she tried to take it all in. She had never seen anything like this place, and she'd been all over. She'd ridden crocodiles down the Nile, she'd pounced goddesses in fields, she'd met a dragon named Fatima in her new mother's home and lived to tell the tale. She'd seen so much stuff, but she'd never seen anything like this. She didn't even know what this was, except for one thing:

( It. Was. Awesome. )

Egypt. Was. Hot. In all his ramblings about this fantastical place, Hermes had somehow managed to not describe the heat accurately. Maybe Kratos should have picked it up from the descriptions of the clothing that the messenger said the Egyptians wore, light and filmy. Some of those worn by the women were all but see through, which made him blush some. Hermes hadn't described that accurately either, but Kray thought maybe he'd done that on purpose; gods would be flooding into Egypt to ogle if they knew about that.

Kratos decided maybe he'd keep that to himself as well. But he was telling everyone how very hot it was. What he wouldn't give for a cool skin of wine right about now. Not that he was much of a drinker. He preferred water, usually. But since he didn't know how reliable the water here was, or the location of a good spring, wine would be safer. Some of Dionysos' wine would be best, though it generally went straight to his head. ( Maybe he could find some local wine. )

Thoth looked at the Rainbow Bridge before him with fascination. There was no other way to describe it other than fascinating. A bridge... made of a rainbow. It was the way to the lands of the gods of the Scandinavian people. Not known for being particularly cautious, preferring instead to plow forward and adjust as the wind required it, Wisdom did toe at the edge of the bridge to be sure it was solid.

It wasn't as if the old Egyptian was particularly worried about falling and hurting himself. It was more of disbelief. Rainbows simply weren't solid objects. They were formed by the way the light moved through the moisture in the air and... yeah. But this, he realized as he put one foot down, was solid enough to walk upon. It obviously wasn't something the mortals could see or they would be forever climbing to the realms of their gods.

Nodding his head once, Thoth pressed onward and started walking toward the mythical land of Asgard. It was quite a journey, mysterious and rather epic when one thought about it, but he was determined to learn more about these young gods from the north right from their own mouths. He'd done some minor reading on the pantheon, enough to make him wonder what was factual and what was not. Obviously, the Rainbow Biforst Bridge was fact and not embellished fiction.

( Fascinating. )

Bedtime was the worst time of the day. Except when Uncle Djehuty came to spend the night. Aset was convinced he was the greatest babysitter. Ever. And it wasn't just bedtime.

Her uncle was just too much fun to be around. He taught her stuff, played with her, and pretty much let her and her siblings do what they wanted. Well, not everything they wanted, but a whole lot more than Mommy or Daddy did. Uncle Djehuty seemed to enjoy watching the kids play, and encouraged them to play games and use their imaginations.

But even her fun uncle was firm about when bedtime was. At least the part about having to go to bed. Sleep was usually another matter. There was the required glass of water, then at least one story. Sometimes, if she was lucky and he wasn't too tired, she would get two stories. For now, she was only shooting for one. One very special story.

"Will you tell me my story again? You can sit on my bed." Which would be perfect, because then she could snuggle while he told the story.

Aset loved her Uncle Djehuty very much.

"Please?" She gave him her cutest smile and waited expectantly. It didn't even occur to Aset that he might turn her down. He was way too awesome to do that.

Nanna didn't really consider himself old. Despite the number of chronological years that he'd been in existence, as Lord of Time, it was all more than a little fluid to him. He was both old and young, and all points in between, all at the same moment. Which, Nanna could admit, might get a tad confusing. If he thought about it too long himself it made him feel as though his brain was going cross-eyed. It was a novel sensation, and he enjoyed it on occasion, but most often, he simply accepted that things were as they were.

( He was not old. )

Generally speaking, Nanna was a night owl.  It was not only because of the nature of his duties with the moon, but also because that was when those who studied secretly did their most diligent work.  But on occasion, when the situation called for it, he could and did get up during the daylight hours.  Today, the sun was still strong against his back as it dipped toward the horizon, ( so the sand was warm and comfortable when he settled in. )